brooke's Journal

5/31/2012 1:30 University of Washington Squirrels
Some interesting facts about squirrels:

• They build nests for there young
• They often hold their hands over their hearts
• Squirrel skulls have changed very little over time, which can be observed by looking at their skulls
• They have a wide field of view, but have trouble seeing right in front of them
• Their ankle joints on their back feet can twist all the way around to help them climb and dangle upside down

• Radiotelemetry is used to track squirrel location and find their territory
  Some specific species:
  Eastern Gray: They are smaller and more red than the Western gray, and they have chased the Western gray out and caused them to decline by taking their territory ever since they were introduced to the area in 1925. There are three genetically isolate species. Due to this competition in 1993 the Western gray was placed on the threatened list.
  Yellow Bellied Marmot: The males are larger than the females, causing a wide variation in species size (from 3.5-11 lbs). They are heaviest before hibernation. They are omnivores, use rocks for shelter, and have small litter sizes (3-5).
  Douglas Squirrel: Small, energetic, and doesn’t hibernate. They are found in Western Washington but generally away from urban areas. Are grayish brown with a yellow chest. They live alone in tree holes, underground, and in nests. They are mostly herbivores but occasionally eat insects.
  Columbia ground squirrel: Very small, usually 1-2 lbs. They live in Eastern Washington, Idaho, and Montana. They prefer grassy alpine areas. They live in colonies and are very territorial. They hibernate 7-8 months of the year.
  Antelope Ground Squirrel: There are 5 different species. They are very small (only 0.3 lbs) and live in burrows in Arizona and New Mexico. They are not native to the Northwest area, and prefer rocky, shrub, desert areas. They have large litter sizes- up to 14!

5/31/2012 2:30 University of Washington Butterflies, Bees, and Beetles
Butterflies
There are 4 stages in a butterfly’s life: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and adult (butterfly). Their lifespan ranges, but is generally very short. The small cabbage white butterfly is one of the earliest to emerge and is very small and has a long lifespan. Painted ladies, on the other hand, only live for about two weeks. This means they must find a mate quickly. They females lay eggs on a host plant and they incubate for 3-5 days then hatch. Due to their short lifespan some butterflies don’t eat at all, but most drink nectar. They are very bad pollinators, but still try, which is why they are easiest to find around flowers.

Bees
There are over 100 species of bees on campus. Bees and ants both evolved from wasps. They are very vulnerable to cold, and they keep their nests very warm, usually around 97 degrees. They do this by flapping their wings very fast- up to 235 times per second! There are two kinds of bees: communal and solitary. Most of the bees on campus are communal, but in the real world 95% are solitary. Communal bees have a queen bee who is randomly chosen by the bees when she is a larva and then is fed more and is the only one to lay eggs. They have worker bees who are all female and collect pollen and nectar. They collect pollen in their hair. They communicate with each other by flying in certain angles to the sun, this is known as dancing. Recently there has been an increase in what is called colony collapse disorder, where bees leave their hive. It is predicted that they are dying from pesticides. Solitary bee species are different because all the females are fertile. Each female makes her own nest and there are no worker bees. The females leave the larvae alone in the nest but provide food for when they hatch. They die annually and only have a few weeks to reproduce. Some other interesting facts about bees:

• They don’t like the color black
• They can’t see the color red
• They use their sting as a defensive mechanism, but it is also a reproductive organ
• Honeybees are not native here. They originated in Europe and Africa and were brought to the USA. They are extremely dependent upon humans here.

Beetles
Like butterflies, they have a four part life cycle; egg larvae, pupa, and adult. All beetles have either hard shells or leathery wings. They are found in almost every environment, except polar regions and the ocean. Beetles are really important ecologically because they are decomposers. They have gotten a bad rap in the news (like the Pine beetle), and aren’t appreciated by society for all their hard work. There are probably around 1 million species out there, but only 4,000 have been named. Some specific kinds of beetles are listed below.
California firefly: They have a red edges pronotum. They are part of the firefly family but they can’t illuminate.
Greater Night Stalking Tiger Beetle: Live on the forest floor, have abnormally small wings and therefore can’t fly, they are slow so instead they ambush their victim and pull it into their lair to eat
Alder Flee Beetle: Found in Western North America and are pests to alder trees.

5/13/ 2012 12:30 University of Washington Lichen Observations

Walking to class at the University of Washington students pass probably an average of 5-10 lichen. Along memorial way several can be observed. It is very difficult to identify and distinguish between particular species, but from my observations I believe all the species listed below can be found along memorial way alone.

Scoliciosporum sarothamni AKA Vezda or Vainio: found on the trunk of nearly every tree along memorial way, soft to touch, grows in large patches (3-18 ft)
• gray to light green dust lichen
• dust lichens are closely attached, composed of tiny powdery granules, most don’t produce fruiting bodies- instead spread the powdery granules
• grows well in polluted areas
• usually found on bark, but occasionally rock. prefers smooth bark

Candelaria concolor: found on about a third of the trees along memorial way, generally growing in smaller patches (1/2 inch- 1 ft)
• Yellow to bright green and powdery
• Grows on branches and shrubs
• Looks like it is crustose, but it actually has rhizines so it’s foliose
• One of the most common small foliose lichens
• Relatively tolerant of pollution
• Common in coastal regions, especially in Hawaii
• Environment Hamilton is training high school students to use this lichen to monitor air pollution in neighborhoods by measuring the density and distribution over time

Evernia prunastri: found growing on about ¼ of the trees along memorial way, generally higher up on the tree, in very small clumps
• AKA Antlered Perfume or oakmoss
• mountainous temperate regions in NA and across S. central Europe
• Elongated lobes
• Long/ dangly 1-4 mm wide and up to almost a foot long
• Divergently branches
• Light green
• Soft
• On trees (deciduous and coniferous), shrubs, mostly lower elevations
• Looks and is closely related to spruce moss but that is generally more white
• Commercially harvested for perfume in Europe and sent to France
• Has been used since 16th century to make perfumes, helps the fragrance stay place
• Grows slowly despite it’s name meaning “sprouting well”

Parmelia sulcata: covers nearly every tree on memorial way
• AKA shield lichen
• One of the most common in North America
• Used in dying wool
• Loose larger leaved
• 1-3 mm wide
• Pale grey top, black underneath
• Soredia (use for reproduction) in cracks
• Grows on trees and sometimes rocks, mostly open areas
• Likes shade
• Hummingbirds like to use in nest building
• Spreads to California and Arizona

Some interesting facts about lichen:
• Fungi gives lichen its shape
• Can live in all different kids of habitats
• Dry lichen can absorb water super fast- 3-35 times its weight in seconds, also dry out slowly
• Obtain most their water and nutrients from the air- so they respond dramatically to air quality
• Metals, gasses, and acid all effect lichens
• You can detect how stressed lichens are by the number of their reproductive structures
• Surface lichen grows on is called substrate
• 1,000 known species in the Pacific Northwest, 3,600 in the United States and over 25,000 worldwide.
• Pioneer species- so they are the first on newly cleared areas
• Some are N fixers
• Lichens also produce an arsenal of more than 500 unique
biochemical compounds. Some of these are used by humans in medicines, perfumes, and dyes.- they also serve to keep away predators and competitors and control light exposure
• Lichen tolerance decreases with complexity
• Crustose are the little dust like kinds- they are very tolerant to changes in air chemistry
• Foliose are next most complex, so somewhat tolerant
• Fruticose are generally the least tolerant
• Lichen diversity is highest in the most pristine habitats
• Certain lichen species grow primarily (or even exclusively) in undisturbed habitats. Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis, for instance, grows in the old-growth coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest.
• Lichens are used in air quality studies and research
• If there are factories or other large polluters it will be difficult to find lichen downwind from them
• Deer, elk, caribou, and birds eat lichen

Discovery Park: -122.414500 47.6625
Date June 5, 2012
Time: 1:20 PM

Weather: Slightly cloudy, but some blue sky. Close to 60 degrees. Occasional light breeze.

Area Description: Open grassy areas that lead into patches of shaded wood forests. There are lots of Douglas fir, easily identifiable by their pinecones that cover the ground. Under the trees it is very shady and the soil is darker. There is a lot of moss on the ground. Sword ferns and English ivy surround the tree trunks, along with a tall thin green grass and some other shrubs. Around the edges of the fir forests is a perimeter of pacific crab apple trees. Towards the east there is a shore pine that is approximately 30 feet tall. It has long thin needles and clusters of tan pinecones at the tip. Moving south there is a more open area with tall tan grass area with scotch broom and Himalayan blackberries. To the East there is a patch of pink and purple garden Lupin’s that look like they were planted. Further east there is a large red alder tree with the tree trunk covered in moss and downward swooping low branches.

Birds: I only saw two robins and three crows in the hour I spent in the area, but I heard the song of what I believe was a song sparrow.

Moss and Lichen: Moss covers the ground in the shady areas under the fir trees. Lichen is more common on the deciduous trees, but can be found on the branches of conifers as well. Shield Lichen is probably the most common. Red roof moss can be found on the cement walkways through the park.

Species Descriptions:
Douglas Fir Pseudotsuga menziesii
Pinecones are mostly brown (some green) and looks like mice legs and tail are sticking out of the back, flat green needles that are 2-8cm, the bark is brown and uneven, about 30 feet tall
Pacific Crab Apple Malus fusca
Alternating leaves, small white flowers that grow in clusters with 5 petals and tanish/brown extensions from the center, the leaves are pointed at the tip, dull, and smooth
Oakmoss Evernia Prunastri
Elongated lobes, long/ dangly 1-4 mm wide and up to almost a foot long, divergently branches, light green, soft
Shield Lichen Parmelia Sulcata
Grows closer to the bark, grey top with black underneath, rough feeling
Common Witch’s Hair Alectoria sarmentosa
Long thin, diverging lichen that grows in small clusters along branches of deciduous trees, pale green, no central branch
Lyell’s Bristle Moss Orthotrichum lyellii
Dark green to light green at tip, grows on ground and trees
Western Red Cedar Thuja plicata
Green overlapping braided scales, around 40 feet tall, smells good, thin brown cones
Black Cottonwood Populus balsamifera trichocarpa:
Heart shaped, shiny/waxy dark green leaves, has weird white bubble/ bumps on leaves, gray bark
Shore Pine Pinus contorta contorta
2-6 inch needles that grow around the branch in a circle and are somewhat spaced out, clusters of tan cones that are about 2 cm and pointed at the tip
White/ Paper Birch Betula papyrifera
White bark with gray pathes, leaves are decaying- brownish- looks like it is dying
Mountain maple Acer glabrum
About 4 feet tall with huge leaves (about 8 inches across), green, has 6 lobes, loosely serrated
Beach pea Lathyrus japonicus
Soft, dull roundish green leaves with flat pea pods covered in fine thin hairs, opposite leaflets that grow in even numbers
Yellow and Black Potter Wasp Delta campaniformis
Two seen in dandelion pollinating it, very small, only about ½ cm, mostly black but a few yellow stripes
Garden Lupin Lupinus polyphyllus
Pink and purple perennials growing straight upright, about 2 feet tall, 10-15 thin pointed leaflets at the base
Bark Barnacle Thelotrema lepadinum
Flat white bumpy lichen found on smooth bark
Moss Eurhynchium praelongum
About 2 cm long, dark green fuzzy moss
Scotch Broom Cytisus scoparius
About 4 feet tall, yellow flowers, small leafs

Other species observed:
Himalayan blackberry Rubus armeniacus
Sword Fern Polystichum munitum
Red Alder Alnus rubra: really big
Trailing Blackberry Rubus ursinus
Common Ivy Hedera helix
Dwarf Rose Rosa bridgesii
Dune Grass Swallenia alexandrae
Dull Oregon Grape Mahonia nervosa
Grass Calamagrostis nutkaenis
Brown Grass Alectoria sarmentosa
Daisy Chrysanthemum majus
Red clover Trifolium pratense
Common Dandelion Taraxacum officinale
Bitter Cherry Prunus emarginata